Adjustable head-rest for bath-tubs.



' J. LAHL.

' ADJUSTABLE HEAD REST FOR BATH TUBS.

I APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15, 1910. 1 1,01 1,448. Patented Dec. 12,1911.

' To all whom it may (50mm.-

Be it known that I, JANAN LAHL, a citizen UNITED sTATEsrATE roFFIoE.

JANAN Lat n, or ATLANTIC, IOWA.

ADJUSTABLE HEAD-REST non BATH-Tues.

ofthe United States, residing at Atlantic,

in the county of Cass and State of Iowa,

have invented a certain new and useful Adjustable Head-Rest for Bath-Tubs, of which the following is a specification.

7 The object of my'invention is to provide a" device of'simple, durable and inexpensive construction that maybe formed complete of a single piece of spring wire without bolts, screws" or other fzisteningdevices; that may be readily, quickly and easily applied to an ordinary bath tub and there firmly and securely held in position; and that will also support a pillow or cushion in such a manner that the pillow or cushion may be readily, quickly and easily adjusted in a direction longitudinally of the tub to position where a person in the tub may conveniently useit as a head rest; and also to provide a yielding tension on the cushion for holding it to any position in which it may be adjusted. v

My invention consists in certain details, in the construction, arrangement and combination of the variousparts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figureel shows a perspective view of the frame of my improved invention. Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of a part of the bath tub having my improved head rest applied thereto and showing a pillow or cushion on the frame. Fig. 3 shows an end elevation of a bath tub with my improved head rest frame applied thereto, part of the tub being broken away to show the ends of the frame. The dotted lines in said figure show the position when first applied to the tub and before being moved to the position for use to illustrate the spreading apart of the sidesof the frame when moving to a position for use, and Fig. 4 shows a top or plan view of a portion of a bath tub with my improved head rest applied thereto and showing a towel in position covering the pillow or cushion.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate the body portion of a bath tub of the kind that is provided with a flange at its top which extends outwardly and then downwardly at 11 as shown in Fig. 2. It

Specification of Letters Patent.

is to bath tubs of this kindthat my invention may be applied.

The frame of my improved device is preferably formed of a single piece of spring wire or rod. It comprises two straight parallel end portions 12. At one end of each ofthese parts the rod is curved downwardly and outwardly at 13, the downward portion of the curve being clearly shown in Fig. 2, and the outward portion being illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 4. At

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.-

Application filed December 15, 1910. Serial No. 597,544.

the lower end of the part13 the wire or rod is inclined upwardly and inwardly at 14, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and betweenthe two parts 14 is a straight central portion 15. I also slidingly mount on each of the straight portions 12 a block16 made of rubber or similar material for holding the upper end of the part 12 slightly. spaced apart from the bath tub and for protecting the tub from being scratched by the wire or rod, the space between the block 16 and the part 14 that is engaged by the flangeof the bath tub being such that, before the device is moved to its proper position on the tub, it is less than the distance between the two points on the tub to be engaged thereby so that when the device is moved to the position shown in Fig. 2, the parts 13 of the frame will move from their outwardly and downwardly inclined positions to substantially straight downwardly inclined positions This obviously will cause the two side pieces 12 to be slightly moved apart for purposes hereinafter made clear.

The head rest proper comprises a pillow or cushion 17 preferably made of a waterproof material such as rubber, and provided at both side edges with loops 18, as shown in Fig. 4, to receive the straight portions 12. I also preferably provide a flap 19 at one end of the pillow or cushion to overlap the blocks as shown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 4 I have shown a towel 20 placed on the surface of the pillow or cushion to receive the users head and prevent it from coming in direct contact with the pillow or cushion.

In practical use, the pillow or cushion is first applied to the frame and then the straight central portion 15 of the frame is placed under the flange 11 at the head of a bath tub with the straight ends 12 projected upwardly. Then the straight ends 12 are moved toward the center of the tub and downwardly and during this movement the rubber blocks 16 will engage the top of the tub and will tend to straighten out the parts 13 so that they will approach a straight line between the rubber blocks 16 and the point where the parts 14; engage the tub and in this manner reduce the amount of upward inclination of the parts 13, thus bodily moving both of the straight portions 12 away from each other. In order to produce this result it is essential that the device be so shaped and constructed that the space between the points where the flange 11 of the tub engages the device and the top of the tub is engaged by the rubber block 16 is slightly less than the actual size of the tub between these points. Therefore in order to get the device to its position for use in the tub it is necessary that the spring material of which the device is formed yields in such a manner as to permit it to be fitted 1 to the tub to the position shown in Fig. 2, and in order to force the straightportions 12 from their vertical positions to their downwardly inclined positions, as shown in Fig. 2, the outwardly inclined portions of the parts 13 must be changed to straight upwardly inclined positions, thus effecting the spreading movement of the sides which is necessary in order to provide the yielding tension tending to hold the pillow stretched taut between the straight side portions 12. This accomplishes the desirable result of both holding the device firmly in position on the tub by a gripping movement and also holding the pillow or cushion under tension so that it will be retained in any position in which it may be placed, thus avoiding the use of all adjusting screws, bolts or other devices.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, I have shown a towel applied to the pillow. This is applied in use as follows: The towel is folded to proper size for covering a pillow or cushion, then one side of it is held against the pillow or cushion and the other side inserted between the end of the cushion that is adjacent to the tub and the tub itself. Then when the device is moved downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2, the towel is firmly gripped between the pillow or cushion and the tub so that it is retained firmly in position when the device is being used.

portions, each having at one end a One of the advantages of my invention is that a person in a bath tub may, when in a reclining position, grasp the pillow or cushion with one hand and move it either upwardly or downwardly on the parts 12 of the frame to position where the users head may comfortably rest upon it. It is therefore obviously of great advantage to be able to make such adjustment without the user having to change his position within the tub to manipulate the adjusting screws, bolts or the like.

By having the rubber blocks 16 slidingly supported they may be adjusted to position for permitting the spring frame to firmly grip tubs having flanges of slightly different sizes. If the flange is long the rubber block 16 may be moved downwardly beyond the position shown in Fig. 2.

I claim as my invention: 1

1. An improved head rest for bath tubs, comprising a frame formed of a single piece of wire or rod and comprising straight end part curved downwardly to overlap the end of a bath tub flange and then upwardly to pass under the end of a bath tub flange, a central portion connecting the two upwardly curved portions, two yielding blocks slidingly mounted upon said straight portions to engage the top surface of a bath tub, and a pillow or cushion slidingly mounted upon said straight ends.

2. An improved head rest for bath tubs, comprising a frame formed of a single piece of spring metal, and having two straight end portions, there being at one end of each of said straight portions a part curved downwardly and laterally and atthe other end of said part a part curved upwardly, and between the two upwardly curved portions a straight connecting member, two yielding blocks slidingly mounted on said straight end portion, and a cushion or pillow having loops at its side edges slidingly mounted upon said straight portions, sub-' stantially as and for the purposes stated.

Chicago, 111., December 10, 1910.

J ANAN LAHL. Witnesses:

E. LAHL, F. A. MILES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents -.each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

